Gene Simmons

Rock Musician

Name at birth: Chaim Witz

Gene Simmons is the front man, lead singer and bass player for KISS, the theatrically-inclined 1970s rock band who wore face paint for all their public appearances. Simmons was born in Israel, but he and his mother emigrated to New York in 1958 and he soon began going by the name Gene Klein. After a brief turn as a schoolteacher, he took the name Gene Simmons and helped found KISS with Paul Stanley (guitar, b. Paul Stanley Eisen, 20 January 1952), Peter Criss (drums, b. Peter Crisscoula, 20 December 1947) and Ace Frehley (guitar, b. Paul Frehley, 27 April 1951). Simmons, in demonic makeup, played bass, sang, spat fire and stuck his tongue out really far. The band played heavy metal with a theatrical flair that featured elaborate stage productions with comic-horror themes. KISS toured relentlessly; their live double album KISS Alive (1975) made them superstars, and for the rest of the 1970s they were one of the top acts in the world. In the '80s they recorded sporadically while Simmons, always the busy businessman, pursued other ventures, taking a few movie roles and (incongruously) managing the career of Liza Minnelli. KISS reunited in the mid-1990s, and Simmons continues to be involved in many ventures besides rock and roll, including a line of clothing, a magazine, a cartoon show and a book (KISS and Makeup, 2001). He has twice starred in reality TV shows: teaching British schoolkids in Gene Simmons' Rock School (2005), and appearing with his family in Gene Simmons Family Jewels (2006).

Extra credit: A notorious ladies' man, Simmons was at times romantically linked to Cher and Diana Ross, and has lived with actress Shannon Tweed since the mid-1980s. They have two children: Nick (b. 22 January 1989) and Sophie (b. 7 July 1992)... Another 1970s rocker with a family-based reality show is Ozzy Osbourne.